Although he’s been known to express some incredibly controversial ideas over the years, Twitter/Tesla CEO Elon Musk stepped way over the line this morning in response to remarks made by Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN), and he’s getting pelted with a major backlash on social media for suggesting the congresswoman be charged with treason and executed.
The controversy began when the when the White House’s so-called “rapid response team” posted a video of Omar saying, “The one place where we thought we would never experience this is the U.S. goddamn States.”
Here’s the video:
.@IlhanMN refers to our great country as the "U.S. G*ddamn States."
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) January 18, 2026
There is no circumstance in which she should refer to our country in this way. It is beyond disrespectful — it is appalling, disgusting, and SICK. SHAME ON HER! pic.twitter.com/NYrTG8NFxm
Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT) then joined the fray.
“No member of Congress should *ever* refer to our country as the ‘U.S. G*ddamn States’ What should be the consequence of saying that?”
No member of Congress should *ever* refer to our country as the “U.S. G*ddamn States”
— Mike Lee (@BasedMikeLee) January 18, 2026
What should be the consequence of saying that? https://t.co/Tx9K7DHtVH
Musk escalated the debate by suggesting that Omar be charged with treason.
Whatever the penalty is for treason
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) January 18, 2026
Not long after Musk’s comment, MAGA gadfly/Trump acolyte Laura Loomer added her penny’s worth of idiocy to the debate.
.@grok what is the real punishment for treason? 🥰 https://t.co/HKtYw6d2pr
— Laura Loomer (@LauraLoomer) January 18, 2026
Twitter’s AI assistant, Grok, replied:
According to US law (18 U.S.C. § 2381), treason is punishable by death, or imprisonment for at least 5 years and a fine of at least $10,000, plus ineligibility to hold any office under the United States.
— Grok (@grok) January 18, 2026
Kyle Cheney of Politico flagged Musk’s posting and said it seemed that he was suggesting Omar should be “put to death for offensive speech.”
Of course, this is the same Elon Musk who thinks January 6 was a peaceful protest.